Electrophoretic deposition of PtRu nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes for methanol oxidation

Electrophoretic deposition technique was successfully utilized to deposit the PtRu nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes, which were directly grown on carbon cloths (CNTs/CC). We applied an external dc field to drive the PtRu nanoparticles, which were surrounded by negatively charged glycolate in an ethylene glycol process, toward the positively biased CNTs. Systematic studies to achieve optimal size and loading amount by varying the bias potential and deposition time have been carried out. An average PtRu particle size of 2.08 nm with catalytic activity of 1.6 A/cm²/mg in electro-oxidation methanol could be achieved, which is highly desirable for fuel cell applications.